#London double decker bus generator#
#London double decker bus driver#
#London double decker bus full#

The first Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, supported the Routemaster during his first (2000–2004) term, indicating the type would be retained in a limited capacity on contract renewals as before. Through the TfL contract renewal process, after 2000, the Routemaster began to be identified as the most common example of a non-wheelchair-accessible bus type used on TfL routes. Older buses were allowed to continue operating in London until 23 October 2009, and in the rest of United Kingdom until 22 October 2014.

Background Original Routemaster in London ĭesigned for and largely operated in London, over 2,800 AEC Routemasters were built between 19, with a design so robust that the Routemaster outlasted newer buses intended to replace it, remaining in use until 2005, well into the deregulated era.įrom 31 December 2000, it became mandatory for all new buses delivered in the UK to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, leading to the development of the wheelchair-accessible low-floor bus. This was done to reduce fare evasion, which had been double that of other London buses. In 2020, Transport for London announced that the New Routemasters would be converted so passengers only enter by the front door, with the middle and rear doors becoming exit-only.

#London double decker bus generator#

The bus is a hybrid diesel-electric driven by a battery-powered electric motor, charged by a diesel fuelled generator and recovering energy during braking by regenerative braking. There is a system to display text and provide audio announcements via loudspeakers, and T-loop for users of hearing aids the information typically includes the route number, destination, name of the next stop and that the bus is stopping. The internal lighting is provided by LED clusters, and there is a climate-controlled ventilation system. There is a new pattern of moquette for the seating, manufactured by Camira Fabrics.

This applied even when a conductor was on board, as the conductors did not take fares or check tickets. Other types of ticket must be presented to the driver. Readers for the contactless Oyster card used for payment for transport in London are provided at each of the three boarding points. The rear entrance initially had a platform and pole similar to the original Routemaster, with a door which was kept open for hop-on, hop-off operation when a conductor was on board. The front and rear doors lead to staircases to the upper deck. The final design has doors at the front, centre and rear. The last of the 1,000 New Routemasters was delivered in December 2017.Ĭurved rear as inspired by AEC Routemaster The cost of each bus was £355,000 over the four-year procurement period.

#London double decker bus driver#

The layout of the new bus allows it to be operated by the driver alone.

#London double decker bus full#

Unlike the AEC Routemaster, the new bus has a full front end rather than the protruding, bonneted 'half cab' design, and a rear platform with a door that can be closed, rather than being permanently open. The design for the new double-decker bus was inspired by the original AEC Routemaster, and features three doors and two staircases to allow accessible boarding. Following an open design competition in 2008, Wrightbus was awarded the contract to build the bus at the end of 2009, and the final design was announced in May 2010. The withdrawal of the Routemaster became an issue during the 2008 London mayoral election with Boris Johnson elected mayor with a campaign pledge being to introduce a new Routemaster. After half a century it was withdrawn from service at the end of 2005 (except for two heritage routes which operated until 20 respectively), in favour of a fully accessible one-man-operated modern fleet (including articulated buses), none of which featured a rear open platform. The original AEC Routemaster was used as the standard London bus type, with a rear open platform and crewed by both a driver and conductor. It first entered service in February 2012. Designed by Heatherwick Studio and manufactured by Wrightbus, it is notable for featuring a 'hop-on hop-off' rear open platform similar to the original Routemaster bus design but updated to meet requirements for modern buses to be fully accessible. The New Routemaster, originally referred to as the New Bus for London and colloquially as the Borismaster or Boris Bus, is a low-floor diesel double-decker bus operated in London, England.